Course Summary

Expiration Date: 07/29/2028

Upadacitinib is a selective Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor approved for multiple inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, atopic dermatitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, axial spondyloarthritis, and giant cell arteritis. National and specialty guidelines consistently support its use as a second-line or advanced therapy following failure of conventional DMARDs or biologics. This once-daily oral agent offers rapid symptom control and mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease and demonstrates superior efficacy in some head-to-head trials against standard therapies. However, its use is associated with risks such as serious infections, malignancy, thrombosis, and major cardiovascular events. Safe prescribing requires careful screening, individualized dosing by indication and organ function, and ongoing monitoring by an interprofessional team.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Upadacitinib Pharmacology: Mechanism, Dosing, and Risk Considerations
  • Dosing Considerations: Geriatric, Hepatic, and Renal Impairment
  • Guideline Review: Place of Upadacitinib in Therapy
    • Inflammatory Arthritis: Rheumatoid, Psoriatic, and Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
    • Atopic Dermatitis
    • Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis
    • Giant Cell Arteritis (Temporal Arteritis)
    • Clinical Takeaways
  • Interprofessional Roles in Optimizing Upadacitinib Therapy
  • JOURNAL CLUB: EVALUATING UPADACITINIB FOR MODERATE TO SEVERE CROHN’S DISEASE
    • Purpose
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Study Conclusion
  • Summary

Author

Richard Daniels, PharmD, BCPS

Richard “Cole” Daniels earned his Doctor of Pharmacy(PharmD) from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Montana in 2018. Throughout pharmacy school he completed a 3-year internship at Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana in which he gained valuable experience in an acute care setting. Cole currently serves as a psychiatric clinical staff pharmacist at the Montana State Hospital. He has over 11 years of pharmacy experience having worked in several settings including retail, acute care, and inpatient psychiatric care. Cole has a diverse set of interests. However, acute care medicine, infectious disease, pain management, and asthma/COPD are a primary focus of his at the Montana State Hospital. He obtained board certification as a certified pharmacotherapy specialist in the Spring of 2022.